Chapter Nineteen

Rocky knew the exact second Henri was in danger. He felt his fear as if it were his own. It sat in Rocky’s stomach, twisting it until all of his emotions rose to his throat. Rocky roared and shifted. Making himself a bigger target no longer held any weight. His goal wasn’t to stay alive. It was to keep Henri alive. One fed the other, but he wasn’t thinking of himself. Only making sure his mate was safe.

Far away from danger.

He didn’t know he’d projected the thought until Henri answered back. They’re outside. Lots of them. Echo and I have to help Vaughan.

Rocky had thought he’d been partially feral during the time he couldn’t bond with Henri, but it was nothing compared to how close his dragon was to the surface at the moment, how all his thoughts were primal and dangerous. He zeroed in on the enemy. Only seeing them. But he had an objective.

Mate.

Nothing else mattered.

Rocky released a blast of flames, engulfing two soldiers who stood in his way.

Bandos cursed and saw Sully shift out of the corner of his eye. Gabe had shifted as well. He was somewhere behind Rocky. He could hear him fighting, trying to keep the soldiers from firing.

Guns made it dangerous even for a dragon shifter whose scales were as tough as armor. A bullet could hit in just the right place. Even if the shooter didn’t know about dragons, often they aimed for the head. Rocky had several exposed areas on his neck and throat.

Sully growled and leaped at a soldier who had turned toward them with his gun raised. He wore fear on his face as if it were a mask. It was an odd response, considering every soldier here must know who they were attacking. Seeing one shift must have broken him because he took too long to shoot. By the time he remembered his trigger finger, it was too late. Sully already had his jaws around the man’s throat.

“The humans have figured out where Lucas is.” Gabe had shifted back and stood at his side.

Rocky didn’t know what to do but hesitation killed a person. His instinct warred with what was best for the clan. Echo and Lucas were the most important people in the entire world, not just the clan. While Rocky knew he needed to save them, even if it meant his own life, every instinct told him to get to Henri.

He scanned the area, watching all the soldiers pass by them. They headed in the direction of Mother Estelle’s house.

Rocky made the decision.

He saw a curtain move in the house on the left. These houses probably had several clan members still inside them. Fear and uncertainty had driven people to hide. Some of them didn’t know how to defend themselves.

He shifted. “Bandos and Sully, go get Echo and Henri. I’ll make sure Gabe and Ramsey make it to Mother Estelle’s house. I’ll meet up with you after.”

He trusted Bandos and Sully to do their best to protect Henri. He had to because there were too many humans. If the humans got to either Echo or Lucas, he would lose everything.

“Go to your mate. We’ll be fine,” Ramsey said.

“There are too many humans going in that direction. You’ll need my help if one of you gets hurt.”

With the decision made, Rocky watched Bandos and Sully head for their cabins.

Rocky probably should have shifted back. He didn’t have clothes on. They wouldn’t protect him from a bullet, but he was the only dragon amongst the three of them. Ramsey was a water monster, and Gabe was a wolf shifter. Rocky didn’t want to leave them to fend for themselves on foot while he took to the air.

They tried to remain hidden, following behind the soldiers at a distance, but it didn’t take long for the humans to stop them. Someone yelled and that was all it took. They had to find cover, ducking out of the way when bullets flew at them.

“I can set some of them on fire from the sky.” Rocky had to yell over to Ramsey because they ran for cover in opposite directions. A few yards separated them. Gabe managed to crawled under someone’s porch but he was even farther away than Ramsey.

Ramsey nodded. “Do it.”

Rocky shifted. As soon as he was in the sky, he dipped down and blew a line of fire at a group of soldiers. When they raised their guns and shot at him, he flew.

The fire distracted the humans enough to give Gabe and Ramsey an advantage. Gabe had shifted. He lunged at one soldier who seemed to be distracted by Rocky’s aerial acrobatics. Ramsey shifted his mouth. The sight was horrific, even for a shifter who had seen Ramsey’s water monster moments before, it sent one human running in the opposite direction. The other pointed his gun at Ramsey instead of Rocky, which gave Rocky an opportunity to blow fire again.

A shot rang out. Rocky wasn’t sure if the humans got Ramsey or Gabe, but he was almost positive one of them wasn’t. It wasn’t until he heard Ramsey yell, “I’m hit!” that he knew for sure.

He kept using his fire to kill as many soldiers as possible. Still more came. There were so many. Humans littered Saint Lakes, looking like bugs from the sky.

There was no way they were going to win. Humans outnumbered the clan members. With humans attacking other paranormal towns, they couldn’t call anyone for help. Their only saving grace was a fae and witch.

Rocky and the others had to buy them time. They would lose the war if they didn’t bring Lucas and Echo together.